The Wizard of Inazuka
by JaredMilne1982
Summary: Viewed as a pariah by most of her classmates, Yokorisa Mirasha nonetheless is still friends with a few select people who accept her as she is. But after a fight with them, she feels isolated and alone, even more so when the storm hits her school...
1. Foreword: Introductions

Inazuka Senior High was well-known in the Yokoshima district, indeed all of Tokyo, for its weird teachers, violent students, and the fact that the building had somehow managed to withstand almost a hundred years of both in its hallways. Most of the students who went to Inazuka High were there for a reason, be it because of their incredible marital arts skills, great magical powers, or unique appearances.

At first glance, sixteen-year old Yokorisa Mirasha, or Risa as she liked to be called, would appear to have none of these things. At just over five feet, with long, flowing red hair and large green eyes, Risa's beautiful face and figure, honed from years of dance classes and contests, would attract almost any man, even if her often sad, pensive expression would give them pause. Some people might wonder why she was at Inazuka High, rather than any of the more upscale schools that didn't have fights in the hallways every day.

It should be said, though, that Inazuka High was a school not only for martial artists and magic-users, but also for outcasts. The Mirasha family was a clan that had almost pariah status in Japanese society; once a respected noble family, it had lost a tremendous amount of standing after World War II for cooperating with the American occupiers and allowing them to marry into the family. As a result, the family was loathed by most others in Japanese society, especially given that most of them were the same cold-hearted schemers who intrigued against the other prominent families even to this day.

As a result of the family reputation, Risa had been lonely most of her life, with only her dancing as solace from her icy, unloving parents or the mockery and insults of people her own age. As a result, Risa had withdrawn into a defensive shell for a long time-more than one potential friend had turned on her when they found out she was a Mirasha. She had little love for her family history, given how much grief it had caused her, and even less when she saw the disgusting tactics her family had used to ruin their rivals. Risa had always refused to participate in those acts, but her family name made her guilty by association.

Things had, however, begun to change at Inazuka High when Risa had found acceptance with a few people who seemed to enjoy gathering under the same sakura tree she did. Some of them were strange, others weird, but most of them were pretty nice and welcoming, even to her.

_(Author's Note: The characters in this version of the story are based on the creations I and several friends created more years ago than I care to remember, in the Battlemaster High roleplaying game. Originally meant to playtest one of the members' original RPG system, Battlemaster High eventually took on a life of its own with characters, situations and stories that all intertwined and developed over the years. I was a regular participant from around 1997-1998 up until 2004, when the series pretty much ended after a couple of reboots and false starts. I wrote this story back in 2006 as a final farewell to Inazuka Senior High and its weird and wonderful characters, and I've decided to put it up online for the first time. I myself created Risa, but the other characters here were created by old friends like Wesley Carscaddon, Jeff Taft, and Rob Pool, the mad creative genius who came up with the idea in the first place. No copyright infringement is intended, I just wanted to offer a final tribute to the crazy days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, back when we were all involved with the Final Fantasy RPG and Inazuka Senior High.) _


	2. Alone Among Friends

One typical day at Inazuka seemed like any other, from the sounds of fighting in the hallways and schoolyards to the sounds of bells ringing, lockers slamming and students chatting and talking, going to their next few classes. Risa had just exited her science class and was on her way down the hall to join her new friends for lunch under the sakura tree, when from around the corner ahead she heard loud chants, hollering and laughter. Wondering at the source of the commotion, she hurried up and turned into the next corridor, before stopping dead in her tracks.

Several posters had been attached to the walls, all bearing photos of Risa in the bathroom of her house, wearing nothing but a towel. The kanji on the posters made lewd comments and insulting remarks about her family heritage. In the lower-right corner of the posters there was the unmistakable emblem of the Inazuka Gossip Network, a group of ninja spies notorious for publishing compromising photos and spreading juicy gossip about anyone and everyone in the school.

Risa's head spun as she leaned back against the wall, barely noticing the howls of laughter and the derisive insults as the students turned to notice her. Why had the IGN gone after her? How did they get that photo? And why did it always come back to her family history?

Tears in her eyes, she ran out into the schoolyard towards the sakura tree, her ears filled with the comments of male lechers and the taunts of female students.

The sakura tree was set off from the main part of the schoolyard, offering some privacy to the people who liked to work there. Several members of the group were there already, working on their math and history homework.

A short, weasel-faced teenage boy with thick glasses that framed bright eyes gleaming with intelligence came marching up to the sakura tree. His face was covered in soot and his uniform tattered in several places as he sat down on the bench next to a tall, handsome boy with thick black hair and bright dark eyes. This second boy was powerfully muscled and immaculately groomed, carrying himself with a quiet dignity.

The second boy spoke first.

"What happened to you, Erik? Weren't you supposed to be testing another mecha right now?" the martial artist asked his short companion.

"Das Sayuri wrecked another one," Erik muttered in disappointment. Time and again he had built different mechas to try and win the affection of the girl of his dreams, but every time she had thrashed the mecha into scrap metal, forcing him back to the drawing board at least twice a week. "You das have to rub it in, Kai?"

"Well, how many mechas is that now? Twenty?" Kai-Xiao asked Erik. "Maybe you're just letting the pressure get to you. You should try a new approach other than attacking Sayuri with mechas…your head isn't filled with straw, is it?"

"At least I have das heart," Erik muttered angrily. "You have das women lined up around the block to date you, but you never do. What's das problem, you can't feel anything without das heart?"

"It was just a suggestion…" Kai answered. He was about to say something else, when Risa ran up to them with tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Risa?" Kai asked.

"Look at this," she answered, handing them a copy of the erotic photo. "The IGN has them pasted all over the school." Both boys looked long and hard at the drawing.

"Why would das IGN do this?" Erik asked. Risa sighed and shook her head, not entirely sure herself. Then she remembered.

"There's this dance club I go to a lot," she explained slowly. "This Korean girl and her friends challenged me to a break-dancing contest, and-"

"A Korean girl?" Kai asked. "You don't mean that one from the East who's one of Sakura's top lieutenants?" Risa nodded gloomily.

"She and some of her friends challenged me, and…well….I totally humiliated them, got them laughed out of the club."

"You totally humiliated one of Sakura Sugisaka's best friends?"

"They made fun of my family, and I lost my temper."

"Das six against das one?" Erik asked in surprise.

Risa shrugged sadly.

"She kept going on about how she was really from the East, and that I was a foreigner, an outsider; that-"

"Well, don't worry about it, Risa. This isn't that big a deal," Kai said, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah," Erik chimed in. "Besides, you look good in das picture. They really got das good side," he grinned.

Risa looked at the two boys in astonishment.

"It's not a big…I look…what's wrong with you two?" Risa shouted, hurt and angry. "Don't you even care?" As they tried to stammer out apologies, Risa turned her back and walked past them, towards two other people sitting on the other side of the tree. One of them, an attractive girl with red hair and green eyes who looked rather like Risa herself, glanced up from her algebra homework and nudged her companion, a solidly built martial artist with glasses. Mitsuko and Ichiro looked at Risa in confusion.

"What's the matter?" Mitsuko asked.

Risa hurriedly explained the problem again.

"Look Risa, we can't help you with this," Ichiro said, trying to calm her down. "Mitsuko and I are trying to finish this-"

Risa didn't wait to hear him finish, turning away with tears in her eyes. She walked off not even hearing her "friends" calling to her, or noticing the stray ki blast heading right towards her from another direction.

Risa was suddenly tackled and knocked to the ground as the energy bolt roared right through where she had been standing. Her eyes widened as she realized just how close she had come to being seriously hurt. She looked around briefly, and saw a short boy with a round face looking at her with concern. Tiko, another member of the group who hung around the sakura tree, helped her to her feet.

"Tiko…you were almost as scared as me," Risa said with a weak smile, as Tiko tried to get his shaking under control.

"I just didn't want to see you get hurt," he said with a smile. "I heard about what happened to you. Are you going to be alright?"

"I will be once I figure out what to do with the IGN," Risa answered, a twinge of anger creeping into her voice.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Tiko cautioned her. "It might not be a good idea, and you-"

Risa felt more hurt and upset than ever. "Wh-what? Tiko, what are you, a coward?" She walked away again, ignoring Tiko's calls and apologies. Once again, Risa was alone, just as she always seemed to be.

Later that day, Risa came back into the schoolyard, on her way to her next class. Fortunately, no one was around right now. She had had to put up with more than enough lecherous stares and taunts already.

Around the corner of the next building, Risa heard a series of scratching and crunching sounds. Curiosity broke her out of her depression as she ran to see what was going on.

Turning the corner, she saw a group of rabbits sitting in a circle, eating some leftover carrots and vegetables some students had apparently left behind from the lunch hour. Most of the rabbits seemed to be eating contentedly, but one, a little brown-furred wisp of a thing, kept trying to join the circle, only to be kicked away by the other rabbits, which seemed to enjoy watching it sit alone by itself.

Risa's eyes narrowed as she walked up to the rabbits, who seemed content enough to ignore her. Disgust at the main group welled up inside her as she looked at the little brown rabbit all by itself, seeming to shake in hunger. Passing the main group of rabbits, she picked up the small one by itself, and sat down with it on a bench. She offered a smile as she took some carrots out of her backpack, offering them to the little rabbit. The rabbit sniffed at the carrots, then gratefully took them and began eating hungrily.

Risa's heart lightened as the cute little rabbit looked up at her with grateful eyes. She gave the creature a little pet as it snuggled into her lap.

"Do you have a name?" she asked the rabbit. It looked at her curiously, and then seemed to shake its head as if to tell her she didn't.

"Well, I should give you one, then. How about…Rabi-en-rose?" she asked.

The rabbit shook its head.

"Ryo-Ohki?" she suggested.

The rabbit merely stared back at her.

"Tsukino?" she tried again.

The rabbit crinkled its nose distastefully.

"…Usagi?" she tried hesitantly. It wasn't the most original name, but she was having trouble coming up with anything else.

The rabbit seemed to smile at this name.

"Usagi it is, then," Risa said, cuddling the rabbit. "You feel alone, too?"

Usagi seemed to nod in reply. Risa gave it one last hug, before setting on her way, Usagi in tow.

Towards the end of the day, most of the regular group would be gathering under the sakura tree before heading home. Risa pointedly did not want to see any of them. She just wanted to get her things and leave. She would be alone, as usual, thinking about how once again she thought she had found a place where her heritage wouldn't be a curse, a place where nothing like that mattered. Of course, she didn't. She still dreamed of such a place, but doubted she would ever find it.

Despite her best efforts, Risa ran into two members of the regular group as she headed for her locker. Setsuya, the rich and dashing young scion of a noble family untainted by scandal or gaijin ancestry, and Mai-chan, the kawaii and kind-hearted daughter of Father Buzzsaw, greeted Risa as she was about to enter the doors leading inside.

"I suppose you guys are going to mock me too?" Risa sighed, bracing herself for what was coming.

"Why would we do that, Risa-chan?" Maiko asked.

"Everyone else did," Risa said, smiling in spite of herself. Maiko's gentle attitude could raise anyone's spirits, no matter how low they were feeling. Risa proceeded to tell Maiko and Setsuya about what had happened under the sakura tree, and then introducing them to Usagi, who Maiko snuggled and petted as if it was her own Rabbit-San.

"Risa," Setsuya said calmly. "You totally misunderstood. You know how Erik is-he probably just meant it as a compliment. And Tiko's right about the IGN-do you really think it's a good idea to go after them?"

Risa hesitated. Setsuya was right, obviously.

"But…"

"Ichiro and Mitsuko are up to their eyeballs in schoolwork. I take it you don't have their physics class?" Risa shook her head in response. "Well, if you did you'd know how hard the assignment is. And Kai's right too-think about it; with the next bit of gossip that comes out, everyone's just going to jump on that. Remember that storm that hit when Mizuki was photographed in her nightgown?"

"Now I do," Risa replied. "I completely forgot about it."

"They were just trying to help, Risa," Maiko told her. "We're your friends, right?" Risa smiled and nodded.

"I…I'm really sorry," she answered slowly. "I just-"

"Yeah, we know how it is," Setsuya reassured her. "I'd probably be the same way if it was my family name that got me so much grief."

"Thank you," Risa replied, hugging them both. "I've got to apologize to everyone." Risa ran off in the opposite direction, even as Setsuya and Maiko continued on their way. As they did, the sky began to rapidly darken, as the winds began to howl.

"This doesn't look good," Maiko noted, looking up at the black clouds.

"Yeah. We should head for the gym-the way it's reinforced, nothing can wreck it. Risa you should come-"Setsuya turned around, but Risa was long gone. He looked back in the direction she had gone, and then at the howling winds with concern.


	3. Eye of the Storm

Risa soon noticed how bad the storm was getting, seeing random students running in all directions, trying to find shelter before the storm hit in full force. She cursed, realizing she needed to do the same thing. She turned around and began walking, but stopped short as a howl of wind smashed a flying bench right into the wall in front of her.

Surprised but unhurt, Risa then saw Usagi running into the school, frightened by the impact. Forgetting everything else, she ran after the little rabbit, following it into the building. Outside, the winds became even fiercer and the skies nearly as black as night as a tornado began coming down over Inazuka High and the Yokoshima district.

Risa searched for several long, worrying minutes before she finally found Usagi cowering in a classroom, hiding behind the teacher's desk. She picked him up and began cradling him in her arms, petting him to calm him down. She sat down in the corner, realizing that there was little she could do but wait out the storm. Going outside now would just be crazy.

Risa's heart suddenly skipped a beat as she felt the entire building shake. A loud crunching, ripping sound echoed through the air, and suddenly she felt the building seem to spin and tumble, almost as if it was…_caught in the tornado? _

Inching over to the window, Risa was astonished to see part of the school building had actually been torn out of the ground and was indeed spinning around in the tornado. Obviously, it wasn't reinforced like much of the rest of the school, which Risa could see still on the ground, and the rest of the city…Risa sat down in a daze.

Holding Usagi in her arms, she did the only thing she could think of: she sat down in a secure corner and closed her eyes, bracing herself for any impact before the school building crashed.

An impact did jolt Risa's eyes open, but it was not nearly as violent as she had expected. Standing up unhurt, she looked around and saw her wrecked surroundings, before making her way out of the room and into the trashed corridors, heading for the doors. She expected to find that she had flown a few kilometers from Yokoshima, and that she could take a train or hire a cab back to the school.

As she emerged from the wrecked school, she found that she had flown much, much farther than a few simple kilometers.


	4. Stranger in a Strange Land

All around stood a beautiful forest set against a clear blue sky and a shimmering indigo lake, both of which shone under a brightly lit sun that was a stark contrast from the dark clouds of the tornado. In the midst of the trees were a series of small, dome-like huts and houses, decorated in bright colors and marked with flowers and trees in beautiful gardens. All around, everything seemed calm, peaceful and serene.

Risa and Usagi walked slowly through the village, which seemed all but deserted. Out of the corner of her eye, Risa saw a coppery-red road begin in the village square before stretching out into the countryside, beyond the village. It was quiet, so much that Risa could hear Usagi's steps behind her. Still, she was convinced that she was not alone here…wherever _**here**_ was.

"Is…anyone here?" Risa called out, looking around in puzzlement.

There was no response.

"I…won't hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of," she tried again.

The bushes to her left began to rustle, as several tiny people emerged from hiding, dressed in colorful clothes with strange patterns, long kimonos and robes. Barely three feet high, their eyes gleamed brightly behind their waxed moustaches, rounded bowl-shaped hats, and wide-brimmed collars. All of the little beings were smiling with joy and relief. More and more of the little people emerged from the shrubs and out of the trees, until Risa was surrounded by well over a hundred of them.

One of the people, obviously a leader by his dress and the regal way in which he carried himself, broke from the crowd and approached Risa.

"I take it you're not a witch, child?" the little man asked her, adjusting his spectacles as he sized her up.

Risa was unsure of how to react.

"What tipped you off?" she asked slightly dryly. "My not wearing a pointed hat, or the fact that…hey!" she scowled at him, realizing just what the little man was looking at. Usagi hopped into her arms, which she crossed defensively. "Maybe the fact that I didn't turn you into a toad for that?"

"You can't blame a man for trying," the little man chuckled. "But even if you're not a witch, you and your little friend still have our sincerest gratitude. For because of you, we are freed from our suffering."

Risa's annoyance turned to confusion.

"Suffering?" she said, a tinge of sadness coming into her voice. Who would want to hurt these people? Risa couldn't imagine anyone harming such kindly folk. "Who made you suffer?"

"See for yourself," the little man answered, leading Risa back through the crowd. When they had come back to the wreckage of the school, the little man pointed out something Risa had not noticed when she had come out into the daylight.

A pair of legs dressed in black and white-striped stockings protruded from underneath the school, wearing a pair of beautifully crafted, gleaming tap shoes of sparkling ruby, complete with hard white diamond for the taps. Whoever the person was, she had been crushed underneath the school as it had fallen out of the sky.

Risa suddenly felt sick with horror. She slowly turned around and faced the crowd.

"Please…I didn't mean to…the wind…I couldn't control…" she stammered, as her head whirled with what had happened.

Suddenly, all the little people burst out cheering. Risa simply looked at them dumbfounded.

"You have no idea what this means to us!" one woman cried.

"She did all sorts of horrible things to us!" a man answered.  
"No Munchkin was ever happy as long as the Wicked Witch of the East ruled over them," the leader of the little people explained. "She treated us like her slaves, and when your house landed on her, you set us all free. We'll always be grateful to you…"

Risa calmed down, relieved and happy at the news. Her compassion always came back sooner or later, no matter how defensive she might get.

"You're…the Munchkins, I take it?" Risa asked the little man. He nodded. "Where…is this place? Where am I?"

"This is the country of Yn. It's a country that often stays on its own, untouched by the rest of the world," the little munchkin answered. "Where are you from?"

"The suburbs of Yokoshima, in Japan," she answered tentatively. "You probably don't know where it is," she sighed.

"I'm afraid not," the munchkin leader answered. "It may be that you will be stuck here."

"No…no!" Risa shook her head in denial. The thought of never seeing her friends again made her feel sick. As good and gentle as the munchkins were, their land could never be home to her. Her family name was not a problem here, but what did that matter if the people she cared about were back in Japan?

The munchkin leader patted her arm in sympathy and was about to say something else when they heard a loud crashing and exploding sound from across the village square. A ghastly cloud of reddish, green and yellow vapors appeared out of nowhere, as the munchkins screamed in terror and ran away in panic.

The smoke cleared to reveal a young woman dressed in a clinging black shift, with wavy blond hair and glowing green eyes that flashed with a sinister light. She wore a long, narrowly pointed hat and a dozen jeweled rings on her fingers. Murder gleamed in her eyes as she advanced on Risa, an angry scowl on her face.

Risa briefly did a double-take for a second. This person, whoever she was, looked…_exactly like Sakura? _

"Sakura?!?" Risa asked incredulously. "What are you doing here, and why are you dressed like a-"

"Who the hell's Sakura?" the other woman spat. "And, unless you were too blind to notice, I dress the way I do because I'm a witch. The Wicked Witch of the West. And I've come to deal-personally-with whoever killed my sister. It was you, I'm sure of it. None of these munchkin fools would dare."

"But…I didn't mean to…the wind dropped the school on her! I didn't have anything to do with it!" Risa protested, fear mounting in her voice.

"And you think I care?" the witch asked, laughing cruelly. "I should thank you, though. With my sister dead, the ruby tap shoes are mine. With their power, all of Yn will suffer and bow to my will…starting with you and these cursed munchkins." Even as she spoke, the witch advanced to her sister's remains, reaching down to remove the shoes.

The ruby tap shoes promptly vanished into thin air, even as the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East curled up and slid under the wreckage of the school, never to be seen again.

The Wicked Witch of the West looked as if she would explode in a rage.

"What the hell happened?" she screeched, as the munchkins curled into tiny balls, trying very, very hard to escape the witch's notice. The witch ignored them all, turning around and focusing dead on Risa.

"How did you get the shoes?" the witch shouted, as Risa looked back at her in fear and confusion. She suddenly looked down at her own feet, and saw to her amazement that…_she was wearing the ruby tap shoes? _

"I…I don't know!" Risa stammered. "I didn't want them!"

"Then I suggest you give them to me now, before I burn this village and everyone in it alive," the witch threatened. She was, if anything, even more ruthless than Sakura.

Panic and fear for the munchkins mixed as Risa sat down and tried to remove the shoes. She pulled and tugged, but to her astonishment and horror, they wouldn't budge.

"I don't understand! They won't come off!" she said. The witch scowled and stepped forward, grabbing one of the shoes to try and remove it herself, before the shoes glowed and flashed, burning the witch with a horrible shock.

Screaming and sputtering in rage, the witch raised her long, slender wand.

"I make good on my promises," she hissed. "All this land will burn, and it will be your fault. You should have given me the shoes when you had the chance," the witch accused Risa, a fireball appearing at the end of her wand. The witch made as if to cast it at the munchkin village, even as Risa pleaded for her to stop.

Suddenly, the witch's fireball winked out of existence. The witch made as if to accuse Risa of something else, before they both noticed a series of sparkling, dancing lights of indigo, lavender and cerulean, which coalesced into the form of another young woman, dressed in a beautiful rose-colored gown and wearing a diamond-encrusted tiara on her head, carrying a long slender wand with a heart on the end. To Risa's amazement, she looked almost exactly like Mai-chan.

The Wicked Witch of the West merely glared at this new arrival.

"I suppose you had something to do with this," she snarled.

"Indeed I did," her foe answered in a lyrical, serene voice. "You should realize that your power will not work here. I suggest you leave, before I get angry," the woman who looked like Mai answered, her eyes narrowing.

The Wicked Witch of the West stood in silence, before glaring at Risa as if it was her fault.

"This isn't over. I will have those shoes, and I will make you pay with blood for killing my sister," she threatened, even as she faded from sight.

A shaken Risa got to her feet, considering the new arrival.

"That can't be you, Mai-chan…" Risa said slowly.

"I do not know who this 'Mai-chan' person is," the other woman answered. "I am the Good Witch of the North. And you must be the person who killed the Wicked Witch of the East, since you are now wearing her magical shoes."

"Looks like it," Risa said slowly as she looked down at the sparkling shoes. "You didn't give them to me, did you? Your magic didn't move them? That's just got the witch even angrier at me. Besides, wouldn't they be safer with you? "

The good witch shook her head.

"They came to you on their own," she replied. "And I would have taken them myself for safekeeping, but that is now simply impossible."

"I noticed," Risa said dryly. "I can't take them off, no matter how hard I pull."

"Consider yourself fortunate," the Good Witch answered. "You're the only one who can even try to take them off without getting shocked. I take it that's what happened to the Witch of the West?"

Risa nodded.

"Whoever wears the ruby tap shoes is more or less stuck with them," the witch explained. "The wearer may not be shocked for trying to remove them, but even she cannot take them off."

Risa simply blinked.

"In other words, they're stuck to my feet no matter what. But how did they get there in the first place?"

The Good Witch shook her head.

"The ruby tap shoes are extremely powerful and magical. Indeed, they even have a mind of their own. They choose whoever will wear them. The wearer doesn't choose to put them on, they choose to put themselves on the wearer," the Good Witch continued.

Risa suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"You said they're magical?"

The Good Witch nodded.

"Then…" she breathed, filling with hope. Picking up Usagi, Risa closed her eyes and clicked her heels together three times.

"There's no place like home," she repeated three times, before opening her eyes.

The Good Witch and the munchkins continued to stare at her curiously, wondering what she was doing. The scenery of Yn was still all around her.

Risa frowned, then tried again, repeating the same phrase in English, or as close to it as she could muster.

Opening her eyes, she saw that she was still in the land of Yn.

"What…are you doing?" the Good Witch asked her. Risa sweat-dropped in embarrassment.

"It's…a good luck ritual where I come from," she answered, lying to save face even as she pointedly reminded herself to never, _ever, __**ever **_trust American cinema again.

The Good Witch and the munchkins all sweat-dropped in reply.

"Do you have any idea how I could return to Japan? Could you send me home?"

"I'm afraid not. It's far beyond my powers. The only person who might be able to help you is the Wizard of Yn. He is the greatest magic-user in all the country, so the legends say."

"And where does he live?" Risa asked.

"The City of Sapphires," the Good Witch answered. "The Copper Stone Road leads the way," she continued with a flourish, indicating a long, winding path constructed of cobblestones fashioned of copper. The road wound far into the distance, well beyond the borders of the village. "Take that road, and you will arrive at the City."

"I guess I'll have to walk," Risa sighed. "Good thing these shoes are so comfortable."

"You must be sure never to let the Wicked Witch get her hands on them. If she does," the Good Witch said in dead seriousness, "she will destroy all of Yn, holding the whole of the country in a death grip. No one and nothing, not even the Wizard himself, will be able to stop her. What she can do to Yn will be far worse than anything her sister could ever have done to the munchkins."

Risa simply looked at the Good Witch. Having the fate of an entire country on her shoulders-or seeming like it, at any rate-was not exactly what she would have wanted, especially given how she could not fight or use technology or magic the way her friends did. Her shoulders bent in resignation.

"You don't need to feel so responsible, dear," the Good Witch reassured her. "I will ensure that the Wicked Witch shall take no vengeance on the munchkins. I may not be able to accompany you to the City of Sapphires, but if you remember nothing else, remember that you are not alone, and you never are. Your eagerness to return home shows that you care for whoever you left behind. As long as you remember that you are not alone, they will always be by your side." As if to chime in, Usagi seemed to smile at her.

Risa smiled. The joy and the happiness of the munchkins, who she had already helped, however inadvertently, lifted her heart. She knew that, whatever else she did in Yn, she had already done some good here.

"Thank you," she said to the Good Witch. The two women hugged, as the munchkins gathered Risa extra food and water for her and Usagi on their journey.

Risa and Usagi set off down the Copper Stone Road early the next morning, as the munchkins began to celebrate and sing their freedom from the Wicked Witch of the East. The sun shone brightly, cooled by a gentle breeze that echoed through the trees that lined either side of the road. As Risa and Usagi moved further down the road, the songs of the munchkins became louder, as if to wish her a final good-bye. In response, she began her own little tap-dance down the road. Given that she couldn't take the ruby tap shoes off, she figured she should make the best of the situation.


	5. The Brainless Straw Man

Several hours of walk had Risa and Usagi pass by several outlying munchkin farms, some of whom greeted her and gave her and Usagi some food, allowing them to rest. Risa and Usagi were both well-used to physical exertion, and the walking, although long, was not unpleasant.

Risa finally slowed down in front of a large cornfield, gazing at the stalks of corn that were easily taller than she was, and would have to be at least twice the height of the munchkins.

"I wonder how they cut down the stalks," Risa asked Usagi.

"They use das thresher. What did you expect?" a voice suddenly answered her.

Risa and Usagi both jumped in the air. She could have _**sworn**_ that was Erik's voice. Did the storm bring him to Yn, too? She and Usagi walked into the cornfield towards the voice, half-expecting to see her old friend.

What she saw instead was a scarecrow, hanging from a pole, and pulling levers and switches on some sort of bizarre control panel. She suddenly heard a roaring sound, as a miniature threshing machine cut through the cornstalks she passed through. Looking back at the scarecrow, he grinned at her.

Risa did a double-take. The scarecrow looked.

Exactly.

Like.

Erik.

"This has to be a dream," Risa said, pinching herself briefly. But it was real-either she was too much asleep to wake up, or that scarecrow looked exactly like Erik.

"What you doing in das cornfield?" the scarecrow asked her.

"Well…you sound just like someone I know…" Risa stammered, trying to come up with an explanation. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping das farmers with their work. I build das inventions for them, help them cut their cornfields. But it's das boring work-not what I want to be doing. I only do it to be near das lady scarecrow," he replied wistfully.

"A…lady scarecrow?" Risa asked.

"Yeah. Das lady scarecrow really pretty. I try and use das inventions to impress her, but she always tear them down by saying they're not any good."

"What kind of things have you built?" Risa asked.

"I build das threshing machines to cut down cornstalks, das folding bridges to cross das rivers and irrigation, das spinning hand to break up clay in soil, and das x-ray glasses to find truffles underground. Das x-ray glasses are my favorite," he chuckled, putting them on and flicking them on.

Risa looked at him for a minute. Why would he use those glasses? His grin gave everything away, as she realized what he was looking at.

"HENTAI!" she screamed, whacking the scarecrow in the head with a mallet and smashing his x-ray glasses.

Her anger vanished as soon as it appeared, before feeling a wave of remorse for the scarecrow.

"I…I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Are you alright?" More than once, the defensive shell endless teasing and mockery had forced her to develop had made her overreact. It had ruined more than one potential friendship.

"Das fine," the scarecrow sighed, folding the wrecked glasses and putting them in his pocket. "I don't have anything in das head, anyway. It's all just straw. No das brain. That's why my inventions never impress das lady scarecrow-they too crude and simple to get her attention, so you see what I'm reduced to. I need das brain to make better inventions," he said sadly.

Risa suddenly felt sorry for the scarecrow. He reminded her so much of Erik, and his endless frustrations to try and win Sayuri over with bigger and bigger mecha, only to have her tear them down…and his heart with them.

A stray idea came into her head.

"Maybe the Wizard of Yn can help you. I need him to help me return to Japan, maybe he can help you get the brain you want," she offered. It sounded crazy, but after dealing with talking scarecrows, magical tap shoes, and compass-point witches, Risa was ready to believe almost anything.

"You das nice lady," the scarecrow smiled. "Why I not think of das idea before now? I need das brain more than I realized," he finished, hopping off his post and pulling several levers, even as his threshing machine returned to him. The strange device folded into a small metal box, before he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

"Are you sure your boss won't mind you leaving your cornfield?" Risa asked him.  
"No problem," the scarecrow assured her. "Das Wicked Witch of the East banned union work for farmers, but now I hear das Wicked Witch is dead. Now das unions are back, and I have lots of das vacation days saved up. Das farmhand's union very powerful in eastern Yn. I take first das vacation in ten years; give me weeks of vacation time."

Risa looked at Usagi.

"Looks like we have a companion," she said, shrugging her shoulders. To her horror, she suddenly found that Usagi had been eating the corn while she had been talking to the scarecrow.

"Usagi! What do you think you're doing?" she scolded the rabbit, who lowered his ears in shame. She hardly wanted to get the scarecrow in trouble.

"You're going to have to pay for das corn," the scarecrow said, coming up behind her. "Only person who kill das Wicked Witch can have free food."

"That would be…me, I guess. Sort of," Risa said sheepishly. Which was a good thing, since she doubted the yen was legal tender in Yn.

"Wow," the scarecrow said. "Das small world, huh?"

"I guess so," Risa laughed, picking up Usagi. "Shall we go, then?"


	6. As Cold and Heartless as Iron

Risa and the scarecrow spent the night at the edge of the road, Usagi keeping a vigilant eye on the scarecrow. The tired rabbit fell asleep in Risa's arms as she and the scarecrow continued down the Copper Stone Road. The travelers had passed out of the cultivated parkland and were now passing into a series of woods and forests, mostly untamed by the munchkins. The sun still shone through the leaves, lighting the way clearly for them as they continued.

Finally, Risa and the scarecrow stopped to rest and eat under a shade of trees, as Usagi woke from his nap. Risa fed him some celery and carrots, before drinking some water and leaning back against the tree, Usagi in her lap.

Several minutes passed before Risa caught a glimpse of a shape deeper in the trees. Curious, she called the scarecrow, who returned with some wild apples he picked from the trees.

Risa, Usagi and the scarecrow walked towards the shape, and found it to be taller than the both of them. It looked to be an iron statue in the shape of a man, crafted as if it was dressed in a gi and bearing a hard kendo stick. Several rocks and trees around the statue were broken and chipped, suggesting that someone had been doing some hard kendo practice here.

The statue itself was flecked with rust, and had obviously been exposed to the elements for a long time. Still, it was extremely well-crafted…Risa rubbed some of the moss and scum off the face and nearly jumped in astonishment.

The iron statue looked almost exactly like Kai-Xiao.

Risa and the scarecrow suddenly heard a muffled squeal, as if someone was trying to talk through clenched teeth. Now Risa was thoroughly confused-not only did it sound as if the statue was talking, it sounded as if the statue was talking in Kai's voice.

The scarecrow, meanwhile, began oiling the joints and body of the iron statue, using the oil can that Usagi had helpfully found. Finally, the iron man began shaking the rust and oily film off his body, before moving and shaking the tension out of his limbs with a loud creaking and clanking.

"Finally, I can move again! I don't know who you are, but I owe you big time," the iron man said. Risa couldn't believe it-he looked and sounded just like Kai.

"Kai? That can't possibly be you," she said, shaking her head.

"I don't know anyone named Kai," the iron man replied. "I'm just a man of iron."

"What das happened to you? Das iron body was rusted pretty badly," the scarecrow asked.

"I come out here by myself to train my martial arts and kendo abilities," he replied, indicating the broken stumps and rocks. "Just my luck that the biggest storm in fifty years struck when I was out training, and I ended up rusted solid."

"You get das lonely?" the scarecrow asked.

"Of course not," the iron man replied. "Lots of women used to admire me, but even if I saw them again, I couldn't return the favor."

"Why not?" Risa asked.

"I used to be human," the iron man answered, "before I was badly hurt by one of the Wicked Witch of the East's minions. I tried to help the munchkins and suffered for it. One of them gave me a new body of iron, and I came to train out here to take on the Witch again. Then the rainstorm hit, and I rusted out. I've been stuck like that for ages."

"That's terrible," Risa said sadly. Usagi patted the iron man's foot in sympathy. "You must have suffered, knowing what the munchkins were going through…"

"Would that I could," the iron man answered ruefully. "Unfortunately, the munchkin who gave me an iron body forgot to give me a heart. He gave me a brain, but I didn't have a heart to care for with anymore."

"That das make me wish I had your problem," the scarecrow replied. "Having das heart didn't do me any good, liking das lady scarecrow but not having das brains to impress her."

"At least you still have a heart to care about other people with," the iron man replied. "Knowing how to fight doesn't help much if you can't care for anyone."

The scarecrow and the iron man each glared at one another. They were both jealous of the other, and annoyed that the other one didn't realize how good he had it.

"Erik! Kai! Calm down!" Risa intervened, getting between them.

The scarecrow, Usagi and the iron man all looked at her askance.

"Who is das Erik?" the scarecrow asked.

"And who's this Kai guy?" the iron man chimed in.

Risa sweat-dropped.

"I have some people back home who I really care about. Let's just say you remind me a lot of them," Risa replied, astonished by how familiar they both seemed. "You know, if the Wizard of Yn might be able to give the scarecrow a brain, he might be able to give you a heart," she said to the iron man.

"Really?" the iron man asked in astonishment. "That would be great…being able to love again."

"So would you like to come with us?" Risa asked.

"Sure, I guess. That doesn't bother you?" the iron man asked the scarecrow.

"Das more das merrier, I guess," the scarecrow shrugged.

Risa smiled.

"Let's go, then."

As they set off down the Copper Stone Road, Risa suddenly had a question for the iron man.

"Shouldn't your body be crafted from tin?"

The iron man looked at her curiously.

"Why would I be made of that? Tin can't hold up to rough combat. I'd be crushed if I had a tin body."

Risa merely shrugged in reply.

"That's just what I would have expected, I guess."


	7. The King of Cowards

Risa and Usagi spent another restful night under the protection of the scarecrow and the iron man, neither of whom needed to sleep. They penetrated deeper into the forest that next morning, as the sunlight thinned out, blocked by the thick trees. Distant howls and animal calls unnerved Risa and plainly terrified Usagi, who was glad to hop into her arms. The iron man kept a vigilant guard, wary of anything that might attack them.

"This is a dangerous part of the wood," the iron man informed his companions. "We're in no-man's-land now, and we need to be ready for anything."

"What we das have to worry about? Das lions, das tigers, and das bears?" the scarecrow queried.

"If it were only that," the iron man replied. "Kelidas are the most dangerous creatures in these forests. They're horrible things, with the bodies of bears and the heads of tigers, and they're twice as vicious as both those animals put together. Let's pray we don't run into any of them."

They suddenly heard a loud roaring sound and a rustling in the bushes. The iron man and scarecrow moved to protect Risa, who held a trembling Usagi in her hands, half-expecting a Kelida to jump out at any second.

What came out instead was a huge lion, long and thin, almost panther-like, but seeming no less dangerous. It tried to put on a fierce glare as it leapt at Risa and her friends. Neither the scarecrow nor the iron man seemed particularly impressed. The scarecrow deployed his folding bridge, stretching it across the Copper Stone Road, tripping the lion up. The iron man then promptly whacked the lion on the head, as it collapsed on the road.

"Please, I'm sorry!" the lion moaned. "I didn't mean to hurt you…" As Risa came in for a closer look, she was amazed at how much the lion resembled Tiko, from the puppy-dog look in his eyes to his nervous twitches and his slim frame. She waved the scarecrow and iron man away, before kneeling in front of the lion, rubbing the bruise on his head. Risa felt a wave of sorrow when she saw how hungry the lion was. She removed some of the chicken strips the munchkins had given her from her backpack and fed them to the lion, who devoured them hungrily.

"Thank you," the lion sighed. "I haven't eaten in days. A vicious pack of Kelidas is eating all the game, and there's almost nothing left for the other animals," he explained.

"You can't take them on?" the iron man asked.

"How can I?" the lion answered. "There's almost twenty of them, and just one of me. Besides," he said ashamedly, "I'm just a huge coward. I'm _terrified _of Kelidas…" the poor lion quaked all over. Risa patted his mane gently, as even Usagi advanced and offered the lion some wildflowers he had picked from the side of the road. The lion smiled and tied them into his mane.

"Maybe das lion can come with us?" the scarecrow suggested. "If das Wizard can give das brains and das heart, maybe he can give das courage to das lion."

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Risa asked.

"It's das obvious," the scarecrow explained. "If das Wizard can help us, why can't he help das lion?"

"You'd do that for me?" the lion asked.

"Hey, we all need help at some point," Risa reassured him. "Besides, we have a better chance of getting what we want if we work together, right?"

"You're right," the lion smiled.

The expanding group continued long into the day, and it was late afternoon as Risa considered the strange party she had gathered. So many of the people she had seen here reminded her of people she knew back in Japan. It offered her a mantle of comfort in a world that was otherwise strange and unknown, _just like her friends back in Yokoshima._

Risa was snapped out of her reverie by a loud crashing and howling in the trees ahead. The lion went pale with terror, rooted to the spot behind the scarecrow and iron man as the monsters charged out of the trees. There were almost a score of the huge creatures, with the bodies of bears and the heads of tigers, seeking fresh prey.

The Kelidas.

The iron man charged fearlessly into the middle of the pack, fighting fiercely with his kendo stick and knocking the beasts back. The scarecrow activated the spinning hand he normally used for flailing grain, and lashed out, sending the Kelidas flying with Risa's mallet, which he had had the foresight to attach to the end of his machine. One Kelida tore at him with its claws, while three others bit at the iron man. Neither of them was hurt by the monsters, the scarecrow merely losing some of his straw and the Kelidas' fangs unable to penetrate the iron man's metal skin.

But the creatures were cunning monsters, and kept the scarecrow and iron man pinned down as some of the others charged past them at Risa, Usagi and the lion, who were frozen with terror.

With a panicking Usagi in her arms, Risa frantically tried to duck and dodge the Kelidas bearing down on her, using all her dance training to spin and twirl out of their way. The lion, meanwhile, had all he could handle simply trying to dodge the Kelidas himself.

Risa managed to avoid the Kelida's fangs and claws, but if she hoped to tire the predators out, she was mistaken. Weary from a long day's walk, she began to slow down, sinking to her knees in exhaustion. The Kelidas roared and bore down on her and Usagi, ready to tear them apart. The scarecrow and iron man were too busy trying to keep the rest of the Kelidas away from their friends, and Usagi was only a bite-sized snack for the Kelidas.

Seeing Risa and Usagi about to be destroyed by the Kelidas, the lion's mane rose up. He let out a massive roar and charged through the Kelidas as if they were nothing, bowling them over and away from Risa. The Kelidas then gathered together and charged him, and the lion charged back, pounding them until they fled back into the forest. The rest of the monsters, battered by the scarecrow and iron man, joined their companions.

The lion glared after them and roared, before finally slumping down on the Copper Stone Road, his chest heaving with exhaustion. The scarecrow and iron man came over to help him to his feet and move him to the soft grass, as Risa took some ointment out of her backpack. She and Usagi immediately set to work treating the lion's cuts and wounds.

"You…saved my life," Risa said in surprise as she rubbed the lion's paw. He just smiled back at her.

"Hey, you were in trouble. What else could I do?" the lion said as he winced.

"Das Kelidas aren't as tough as they look," the scarecrow commented.

"Apparently not," the iron man replied. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked the lion, letting his guard down as he examined the lion's wounds. The lion merely nodded, relaxing his muscles.

"How about you?" the iron man asked Risa, who was still pale and shaking as she rubbed ointment into the lion's chest. She just shook her head.

"I…I'm fine, I guess."

"No, you're not," the iron man insisted. "Here, you should eat something. And take a rest-you've been through a lot today." The iron man began breaking up a series of pine needles and twigs for Risa and the lion to sleep on. With the scarecrow's help, he soon had the lion resting comfortably on a bed, with Risa and Usagi warmly pressed against the lion's thick coat. He smiled as his friends ate, before marching back to the center of the Copper Stone Road to stand guard for the night.

The scarecrow stretched out as he gathered his straw and picked up his spinning hammer.

"You das pretty tough," he said to the lion. "Not as weak as you look."

"Yeah," Risa said with a smile. "You fought almost a dozen Kelidas to save me."

The lion suddenly went pale as he realized just what that meant.

"Fighting…a….dozen…._KELIDAS..._?"

The lion's head spun, before he fell into a dead faint from sheer terror.

The others merely sweat-dropped, before Risa and Usagi curled up for the night, warmed by the lion's fur.


	8. Lions and Tigers and Bears

The expanding group continued long into the day, and it was late afternoon as Risa considered the strange party she had gathered. So many of the people she had seen here reminded her of people she knew back in Japan. It offered her a mantle of comfort in a world that was otherwise strange and unknown, _just like her friends back in Yokoshima._

Risa was snapped out of her reverie by a loud crashing and howling in the trees ahead. The lion went pale with terror, rooted to the spot behind the scarecrow and iron man as the monsters charged out of the trees. There were almost a score of the huge creatures, with the bodies of bears and the heads of tigers, seeking fresh prey.

The Kelidas.

The iron man charged fearlessly into the middle of the pack, fighting fiercely with his kendo stick and knocking the beasts back. The scarecrow activated the spinning hand he normally used for flailing grain, and lashed out, sending the Kelidas flying with Risa's mallet, which he had had the foresight to attach to the end of his machine. One Kelida tore at him with its claws, while three others bit at the iron man. Neither of them was hurt by the monsters, the scarecrow merely losing some of his straw and the Kelidas' fangs unable to penetrate the iron man's metal skin.

But the creatures were cunning monsters, and kept the scarecrow and iron man pinned down as some of the others charged past them at Risa, Usagi and the lion, who were frozen with terror.

With a panicking Usagi in her arms, Risa frantically tried to duck and dodge the Kelidas bearing down on her, using all her dance training to spin and twirl out of their way. The lion, meanwhile, had all he could handle simply trying to dodge the Kelidas himself.

Risa managed to avoid the Kelida's fangs and claws, but if she hoped to tire the predators out, she was mistaken. Weary from a long day's walk, she began to slow down, sinking to her knees in exhaustion. The Kelidas roared and bore down on her and Usagi, ready to tear them apart. The scarecrow and iron man were too busy trying to keep the rest of the Kelidas away from their friends, and Usagi was only a bite-sized snack for the Kelidas.

Seeing Risa and Usagi about to be destroyed by the Kelidas, the lion's mane rose up. He let out a massive roar and charged through the Kelidas as if they were nothing, bowling them over and away from Risa. The Kelidas then gathered together and charged him, and the lion charged back, pounding them until they fled back into the forest. The rest of the monsters, battered by the scarecrow and iron man, joined their companions.

The lion glared after them and roared, before finally slumping down on the Copper Stone Road, his chest heaving with exhaustion. The scarecrow and iron man came over to help him to his feet and move him to the soft grass, as Risa took some ointment out of her backpack. She and Usagi immediately set to work treating the lion's cuts and wounds.

"You…saved my life," Risa said in surprise as she rubbed the lion's paw. He just smiled back at her.

"Hey, you were in trouble. What else could I do?" the lion said as he winced.

"Das Kelidas aren't as tough as they look," the scarecrow commented.

"Apparently not," the iron man replied. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked the lion, letting his guard down as he examined the lion's wounds. The lion merely nodded, relaxing his muscles.

"How about you?" the iron man asked Risa, who was still pale and shaking as she rubbed ointment into the lion's chest. She just shook her head.

"I…I'm fine, I guess."

"No, you're not," the iron man insisted. "Here, you should eat something. And take a rest-you've been through a lot today." The iron man began breaking up a series of pine needles and twigs for Risa and the lion to sleep on. With the scarecrow's help, he soon had the lion resting comfortably on a bed, with Risa and Usagi warmly pressed against the lion's thick coat. He smiled as his friends ate, before marching back to the center of the Copper Stone Road to stand guard for the night.

The scarecrow stretched out as he gathered his straw and picked up his spinning hammer.

"You das pretty tough," he said to the lion. "Not as weak as you look."

"Yeah," Risa said with a smile. "You fought almost a dozen Kelidas to save me."

The lion suddenly went pale as he realized just what that meant.

"Fighting…a….dozen…._KELIDAS..._?"

The lion's head spun, before he fell into a dead faint from sheer terror.

The others merely sweat-dropped, before Risa and Usagi curled up for the night, warmed by the lion's fur.

The group set out again the next morning, rested and refreshed. To pass the time, Risa began to tell her friends about life in Japan, and how she had ended up with the ruby tap shoes, that tapped out a musical rhythm as they walked. They were as eager to listen as she was to tell them.

"Das sounds pretty unpleasant," the scarecrow mentioned after Risa had finished describing the pariah status she had inherited because of her family name. "The way you describe it, das friends of yours must have been shamed a bit themselves by being so close to you."

Risa was struck by how right the scarecrow was. Letting her into their circle had probably caused them trouble on more than one occasion.

"It's surprising they let me stay with them, then," she answered.

"Not really," the iron man answered. "If someone can put up with those kinds or problems, and they don't mind it, it means they really care about you. Parents do it for their children, friends do it for each other, and they help you because you've probably helped them. I've known people like that," he said with a smile.

"I know," Risa replied. "They've helped me a lot more than I ever realized…" She then began to wonder just how she might have helped her own friends. She could remember how Kai's spirits had lifted after she listened to him about his frustrations with his lecherous father, or how her dead seriousness had given Mitsuko something to laugh about when she was down.

"Even so, you still have a lot of guts, being able to live with it," the lion added. "And wearing the ruby tap shoes takes a lot of courage, too. The Wicked Witch of the West is the last person I'd want mad at me."

"I didn't have much choice in the matter," Risa said dryly, looking down at her feet. "The Good Witch of the North said they were very powerful, but so far they haven't done anything but appear on my feet and refuse to come off when I try to remove them. But she said I could never let the Wicked Witch get her hands on them, or all of Yn would suffer." Her shoulders slumped again.

"I'd like to see her try," the lion muttered angrily. "If she did, I'd…" The lion suddenly trailed off, realizing what he was saying. He simply shuddered. Risa smiled and patted his mane.

"The thought's what counts," she said with a smile.

The group paused to rest for the night near a river, as Risa refilled her supply of drinking water. She also wondered whether she might need to freshen up a bit, after walking in the wilderness for nearly four days now. But, strangely enough, her clothes were perfectly clean, her hair smelled fresh and washed, and she looked almost as if she had just tidied herself up not ten minutes ago. She idly glanced down at the ruby tap shoes, figuring that they must have _some _magic in them after all.

She stood up and rejoined her friends, who noticed grimly that the river cut right through the path of the Copper Stone Road, which continued on the other bank. The iron man shuddered.

"I hate water…"

"Das no problem," the scarecrow reassured him. Taking a hand-sized device out of his pocket, he turned a knob on it and set it on the ground. The device suddenly expanded and lengthened, creating a fully set bridge that allowed them to cross easily.

"How'd you think of that?" the lion asked the scarecrow as they passed over the bridge.

"Das easy," the scarecrow replied. "Das use of folding bridge isn't obvious? If I cross das ditches, why can't I cross das rivers?" he asked as he pushed another button on the bridge, causing it to fold up before he put it back in his pocket.


	9. Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue

After three more days of travel, Risa and her friends came upon a massive field of reddish flowers that stretched almost as fair as the eye could see, gently wafting in the breeze. The group paid little heed to the flowers, however, seeing a massive citadel beyond the field. It shone with a brilliant indigo and blue light in the afternoon sun, contrasting with the Copper Stone Road that led up to it. Crafted to resemble a set of reflecting prisms set in a ring, the City of Sapphires loomed up in front of Risa and her companions.

Everyone briefly shouted in joy, and was ready to pass through the flower field to reach the City, before Risa suddenly stopped. She smelled something strange.

"Wait!" she called out. The scarecrow and iron man, already running through the field, stopped and turned around. The lion and Usagi, about to join them, suddenly froze.

"What is it?" the iron man asked, coming back to join her.

"Are those flowers…safe?" Risa asked. She couldn't help but have a terrible feeling about them. The scarecrow looked at her doubtfully, before he bent down to examine the flowers more closely. He recoiled in horror as he recognized them.

"Das poison poppies!" he said in alarm, waving at Risa, Usagi and the lion to get back. He and the iron man soon passed back out of the flowers, rejoining their friends.

"How are we supposed to pass through the poppies if they're poisonous?" the lion asked.

"Das easy," the scarecrow answered with a smile. "Das iron man and I can't be poisoned, so we'll just clear out das path for the rest of you! You cut down das flowers with your kendo stick," he indicated to the iron man, "and I use das thresher to cut flowers down," he chuckled, revealing the miniature thresher Risa had seen the scarecrow used when she first met him.

"This not the way we das usually kill the flowers," the scarecrow explained. "We das see them on the farm, but we use das magic to create a frost. Das munchkins can't get close enough to cut them down."

"I can't use magic," Risa shook her head. "And I somehow doubt anyone would have come along at the last minute to save us if we'd gotten poisoned."

"That would be just too convenient," the iron man agreed.

Between them, the scarecrow and iron man quickly cleared a path for Risa, Usagi and the lion, allowing them to pass down the Copper Stone Road as easily as if they were walking through a prairie meadow. Half an hour of walking finally led them to the great gates of the City of Sapphires.

Risa stopped the scarecrow as he was about to ring the doorbell. She figured simply knocking on the doors would be faster and easier. Picking up one of the huge knockers, she hit it against the door repeatedly, creating a loud, hollow banging sound.

A sliding panel in one of the doors suddenly opened up, as a guardsman wearing a teal-colored cap and sporting a handlebar moustache stuck his head out and looked at the group.

"Did you knock on the door?" he demanded.

Risa and her friends nodded in response.

"Don't you know you're supposed to ring the doorbell first?" the guard scolded them.

"Why?" the lion asked.

"That's just the way it works!" the guard stormed, before he retreated inside the door and slammed the panel shut. The scarecrow shrugged and pulled on the cord to ring the doorbell.

The guard emerged from his panel again.

"Who rang that bell?" the guard demanded.

"We did!" the group answered in unison.

"You told us to, remember?" the iron man reminded him.

"Well, can't you read the sign?" the guard demanded.

"What sign?" Risa asked innocently.

The guard looked around for the sign, before heaving a frustrated sigh and retreating inside for a moment, returning with a sign which he promptly hung on the door-knocker. It read:

_**BELL OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE KNOCK. **_

Risa, the scarecrow, the iron man, the lion, and Usagi all sweat-dropped in unison as the guard slammed his panel shut once again.

Frustrated, Risa knocked on the door a second time.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" the door guard demanded.

"We're the people who've been trying to get you to let us in for the last five minutes," Risa answered slowly.

"We want to see the Wizard," the lion added.

"Well, you can't come in! Nobody can see the Wizard!" the door guard barked at them.

The whole group collapsed in frustration.

"What do you mean, we can't see the Wizard?" Risa demanded, finally losing her temper. "Do you have any idea what we've been through? I've got a homicidal witch after me because I'm stuck with a pair of ruby tap shoes I didn't want and can't get rid of even if I try, we've been attacked by killer Kelidas, we had to make our way through a field of poisonous flowers, and we've been on the road for more than a week now! We hear so much about this Wizard, and he can't even make five minutes for-"

"You...have the ruby tap shoes?" the guard asked in amazement.

"See for yourself," Risa sighed, sticking out her feet to show the guard. "They're not going anywhere. I've tried. Believe me."

"Well, then, that's a Hentai Tentacle Beast of a different color!" the guard said brightly. "Come on in!"

Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man and the lion all cheered as the gates opened, before they walked into the City. The guard called a carriage to transport them to the Wizard's castle. Risa stayed behind, rooted to the spot as she saw the creature that was to escort their carriage into the City.

The guard and her friends stopped, turning around at Risa.

"What das matter?" the scarecrow asked.

"A horse…a horse…shouldn't it be a **horse** of a different color…?" Risa asked in a daze, swaying back and forth. The guard merely shrugged.

"If you insist," the guard said casually. "Sorry, Yoggy," he said to the monster that was attached to their carriage. Yoggy released himself and walked away dejected, as a horse came up to take his place.

A much-relieved Risa joined her friends as they passed through the beautifully crafted city, noting all the people dressed in blue kimonos who came to greet them as they headed towards the Wizard's palace. They were filled with hope that their dreams might finally be fulfilled. Risa and her friends were given a chance to freshen up and rest from their journey before going to see the Wizard, and relaxed as they were given some food to eat.

Finally, Risa and her friends were led to a pair of massive, perfectly symmetrical double doors fashioned from blue quartz, which slowly opened to admit them, before slamming shut ominously.

Risa, Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man, and the lion held one another for support as they walked down the dimly lit corridor ahead of them, the only sound being the ruby tap shoes' sound echoing off the walls. They finally emerged into a grand hall with a raised dais squarely in the center that loomed above them as they glanced around nervously.

Suddenly, the incense-burners to either side of the dais lit up dramatically, as a field of blackness gathered on the dais, gathering into the image of a blue-robed man, whose face was concealed by his hood. He sat on a throne of pure sapphire, gazing down intently at his guests.

_"So…you are the ones who seek my favor?" _the hooded man asked them.

"Y…yes…" Risa said nervously. She could hear the lion quaking behind her. "You're…the Wizard?" The hooded man's voice sounded strange, echoing the way Mitsuko's stereo system always did back at Inazuka.

_"Of course I am," _the hooded man answered. _"Now, what did you want from me?"_

The friends looked at one another hesitatingly.

_"Well, what are you waiting for?" _the wizard demanded. _"I can't help you unless you tell me what you want!" _

The scarecrow and iron man stepped forward first.

"I want…das brains," the scarecrow said slowly.

"And I need a heart," the iron man answered.

The lion and Risa stood back nervously, before the wizard nodded at them. They came forward slowly.

"I…need…" the lion swallowed hard. "If you please…courage…and lots of it…"

"And I need to return home, to Japan," Risa finished. "The Good Witch of the North didn't have the power to do it-she said you were the only one."

The wizard bowed his head for a moment, as if considering their requests.

_"I can grant your requests," _the wizard said slowly, as Risa and her friends began to celebrate, _"…if you do something for me in return." _

Risa and her companions suddenly froze.

"You want us to do something?" Risa asked in surprise.

_"Bring me the wand of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is the source of her power," _the wizard said coldly.

The friends looked back aghast. They glanced at each other in astonishment and shock. A strange look crossed the scarecrow's face.

"Why do you need us to take das witch's wand?" he asked. "You're more powerful than her…why don't you do das job?"

"_YOU DARE TO QUESTION ME?" _the wizard shouted back at the scarecrow, who recoiled in surprise.

"You can't talk to him like that!" the lion suddenly snapped, offended by the wizard's attitude. "He has a point, you know!" He bared his fangs at the wizard, who neither flinched nor moved from his throne.

Risa stood behind them, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. The last thing she wanted was to meet the Wicked Witch of the West again, much less bring the ruby tap shoes right to her. Besides, how could she possibly take the Witch's wand, when she couldn't even fight properly? She looked back at the wizard plaintively.

"Can't you send Risa home first?" the iron man asked, coming to her defense. "I can handle this sort of thing myself. Why should she have to go through all this? On my honor-"

"_Honor's a strange thing," _the wizard replied. _"The way I see it, I am asking you to do something. If you do it, I can fulfill your requests. Otherwise, you get nothing. That's all I'm offering. Take it or leave it." _

The friends looked at one another in astonishment. Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man, and the lion all looked at Risa. She looked back at each of them in turn.

"It looks like we don't have any choice," Risa said slowly. She looked up at the wizard, still seated on his throne.

"I can't believe you," she said accusingly. "If you could grant our requests, why couldn't you just do it? What would the harm have been?" Turning around, she left the grand hall, Usagi and her friends following behind.

After Risa and her friends had left the hall, the wizard did not seem to move, but he seemed to make an audible sigh of guilt and regret. One could only imagine what his true face, concealed by his hood, would have revealed.


	10. Things Are Always Darkest

Four more days of long, wearying travel into the western lands of Yn brought the group into a region of arid plains and sickly woods, desolate prairies that seemed to get little water or rain. The whole land seemed quiet and still, without even the slightest sign of birds or animals. Risa and her friends were alone, although they felt something watching them almost every minute, expecting something to attack them, as they approached a thick forest ahead of them.

A loud howling sound was the only warning the group got as a pack of ravening wolves emerged from the woods ahead of them, even as a flock of crows flew from the branches of the trees, screeching loudly. A loud buzzing sound followed as a swarm of bees followed right behind.

Risa's friends immediately spread out to protect her. The iron man and the lion immediately struck at the wolves, even as the scarecrow pulled a steam-making machine from one of his pockets, subduing the bees before using his spinning mallet to battle the crows.  
Risa stayed well back from the melee, knowing she would only be in her friends' way. Then, out of nowhere, she heard a loud screaming and howling…_coming from above? _

A flock of winged monkeys struck before Risa could even react, grabbing her securely before flying off with her. She screamed to her friends, but none of them could reach her in time. The other monsters had just been a distraction. The monkeys did not even bother to stand and fight, grabbing Risa and Usagi and taking off into the evening skies, as her friends vainly ran after them, cursing themselves for being distracted by the wicked witch's minions.

Risa and Usagi were carried for what seemed like hours, before they finally passed over some scattered huts and hovels, homes of the Winkies that inhabited western Yn and suffered under the Witch of the West. Ahead of her loomed a massive, ugly castle that stood out in blunt, heavy contrast to the bloody sunset ahead. Its spires pierced the skyline, and its crooked, sharp edges were distorted and twisted.

The Wicked Witch of the West's home.

The monkeys flew up to one of the windows at the top of the building's tallest tower. They flew in without stopping, tossing Risa and Usagi roughly to the ground inside.

Risa tried to sit up as she recovered from the shock, glancing around in horror. Strange artifacts and weird vials were all around her, as well as ugly murals and strange drawings. A crystal ball sat prominently on a stand in the center of the room, while a pair of wide-open windows offered a view of the lifeless plains far below. Holding Usagi tightly, Risa turned around, before locking eyes with the Wicked Witch of the West, smiling triumphantly at her prisoner.

"Welcome to my parlor," she said sweetly to Risa. Risa tried to say something, anything, but she was paralyzed. The wicked witch merely laughed.

"Everything I could have asked for," she said. "Revenge on you for killing my sister, the ruby tap shoes, and," she said, advancing on Usagi, "a fur-lined collar for my favorite dress."

Usagi suddenly took off like a rocket, running out the tower door and down the steps, as Risa screamed for him to find their friends and bring help. The angry witch cursed, before turning back to Risa.

"I'll make you an offer," the witch smiled. "Give me the ruby tap shoes, and I'll make your death very quick and very painless. You won't feel a thing."

"Forget it!" Risa spat, fear turning to anger. "I told you before, the ruby tap shoes won't come off, and even if they could, there's no way I'd-"

One of the flying monkeys struck Risa on the back of her head, dropping her to her knees. The witch glared down at her, and Risa matched her stare, refusing to give in.

"You don't have to give them to me," the witch said, moving to a shelf in the corner of the room. "I'll just be able to take them after this runs out," she said, holding up an hourglass containing blood red sand. "I'd describe what it will do when the time runs out, but suffice it to say that I'm glad I'm not you," she laughed sadistically. "And when the shoes are mine, I'll take extra care to make the munchkins and the Good Witch of the North suffer for your little outburst."

"You made it so easy," the witch laughed, turning the hourglass over as her minions exited the room. "It would have taken me that much longer to track you down, but you brought the shoes right to me! You've practically handed Yn over to me on a silver platter! Quite a splendid way of handling things," the witch laughed, before she shut the door and locked it behind her.

Risa merely sat on the floor, watching the sand trickle through the hourglass. Suddenly, the crystal ball sparked to life, as images began to form within it. Hoping against hope, Risa looked into it, to see if could tell her about her friends.

The crystal could tell her about her friends, but not the ones she expected. The crystal showed the schoolyard of Inazuka High, which had obviously been rebuilt in the days since the tornado struck. Risa's friends were standing around the sakura tree, shouting and arguing with one another.

"Risa's been missing for almost two weeks!" Mitsuko shouted at Kai-Xiao. "Who knows what's happened to her? The storm could have-"

"Yeah, well she could have come with us to the shelter if you hadn't made her run off-"

"Me?" Mitsuko shouted incredulously. "**You **were the one making cracks about that photo!"

"We just meant it as das compliment!" Erik protested to an angry Setsuya and Ichiro.

"It sure didn't sound like one," muttered Ichiro, clenching his fists and staring right at him.

"You got something to say?" Kai spun around, glaring at Ichiro.

"Guys, stop it!" Tiko protested, trying to get between them.

"Didn't you do anything to try and stop her?" Mai-chan accused him.

Risa's hand flew to her mouth in horror as she saw her friends argue. Kai and Ichiro looked as if they were ready to kill each other, and the others were on a knife edge. Her running away had upset her friends, and now they were all blaming each other for her disappearance.

Risa slumped to the floor in despair. How could she have turned her back on them? They were all fighting because of her. It was as if their friendships were breaking apart because of her.

And now she was as good as dead, meaning the wicked witch would get her hands on the ruby tap shoes. And that meant all of Yn would suffer under the wicked witch's rule. In frustration, she pulled at the shoes again and again, but they stubbornly wouldn't come off.

A massive weight came down on Risa's shoulders as she realized what was happening.

Her friends in Japan were at each others' throats.

Her friends in Yn would never see their dreams come true.

The munchkins, the people of the City of Sapphires, and the Good Witch of the North would all suffer at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Everything was going wrong, everything was falling apart.

And it was all her fault.


	11. Before The Sunrise

Usagi had found the scarecrow, iron man and cowardly lion, and was leading them back to the Wicked Witch's fortress. The lion led the way, Usagi on his back, cursing as he saw the sun setting. The castle was still a speck in the distance-even running as fast as they were, they could only hope that they were not too late.

* * *

The sand had almost run out in the hourglass, as Risa sat watching it helplessly. She had tried to turn it over, but the hourglass was protected, burning anyone except the witch who tried to touch it. She couldn't believe that this was how everything was going to end-was it all over?

_It's only all over if you give up hope, _a voice seemed to say in the back of Risa's head.

"But…I'm not a fighter. I'm not a magical girl. I'm not a magic-user. There's nothing I can do to-"

_Stop thinking about what you can't do, and start focusing on what you can!_ the voice seemed to scold her. _If you give up now, then the ones you care about are the ones who'll pay for it!_

Risa finally stood up. If her friends weren't going to show up at the last minute to save her, she would have to do it herself. Besides, she couldn't abandon them-or her friends in Japan or the people of Yn-as long as she still had the ruby tap shoes. After everything everyone had gone through for her, how could she abandon them?

Risa quickly looked around the room. The door was locked, and even if she could have opened it, the witch's guards would have been waiting for her. She turned to the window. It was wide open, the sill leading onto the spires and buttresses of the roof of the witch's castle. She knew that, if she climbed out of here, she might be able to escape. Risa may not have been able to fight, or possess the ki and magical abilities of her friends, but her dancing skills made her as balanced and coordinated as any of them.

The only problem…was the height. Risa _hated _heights, and a fall from this high would prove fatal. Sweat began to break out on her forehead, but she swallowed hard and gathered her nerves. She had nothing to lose; if she stayed here, she would be as good as dead.

Risa climbed through the window and onto the roof of the witch's castle, carefully taking one step at a time, before holding on to a spire to steady herself. She suddenly saw a sickening red glow emerge from the room where she had been held captive. She shuddered, only imagining what would have happened to her had she stayed. Taking a deep breath, she resumed her climb.

The climb was long, slow and harrowing. Still, Risa pushed on diligently, even if she knew one false move could cost her everything.

Eventually, Risa was stuck, with only a large window offering any way onward. There was nowhere else to go-she would have to try and sneak through the rest of the castle. Risa cursed, hoping that the ruby tap shoes wouldn't make too much noise as she walked…

As it turned out, that was the least of her problems. As Risa passed through the window into the dark room, it suddenly lit up, revealing the chamber as a feast hall, with tables and chairs set up for grand banquets and meals.

Unfortunately, it was also filled with a score of guards, the Wicked Witch at their head. She scowled at Risa.

"Hmph," she snorted. "Clever and daring, and you obviously don't want anyone to suffer by my getting the ruby tap shoes. But this is where it ends." The Witch snapped her fingers to her guards, and pointed at Risa.

"Kill her."

* * *

Suddenly, the double doors of the feast hall burst open, as Risa's friends tore into the guards from behind. The iron man fought fiercely against the lead guards, trying to keep them away from Risa. The scarecrow grabbed a pitcher of vegetable oil from a shelf and tossed it to the floor, causing the charging guards to stumble and fall over each other. The lion simply roared, causing other guards to flee in terror.

Shrieking angrily, the Wicked Witch raised her wand, casting lightning bolts at her friends. They dodged frantically, but none of them could get anywhere near the Witch to fight back.

Risa scowled. This had gone far enough. Her friends had protected her, now she was going to return the favor.

"Hey!" she challenged the Witch.

The Witch turned.

"You want these shoes?" Risa asked. "Then come and get them!"

The Witch screamed in fury and came at Risa, throwing another lighting bolt. Risa dodged with catlike agility, looking around before she finally leapt again, and landing in front of a series of wine barrels.

The Witch cast one more lightning bolt at Risa, who took a deep breath and leapt straight over the lightning bolt and the Witch. The lightning bolt continued on and shattered the barrels, charging into the wine. The electrified wine splattered the Witch, as Risa landed on her hands and sprang again, before safely landing on her feet out of range of the charged wine.

The Witch screamed one last time, before she evaporated, the electricity burning her into nothing.

Risa clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. She hadn't meant to kill the Witch, only stun her with the electricity...she ran forward, her friends and the few remaining guards right behind, but there was nothing left. The Wicked Witch of the West was gone, only her wand remaining. Risa picked it up and held it at arm's length.

"I…I didn't mean for it to happen like this…" Risa said sadly, as her friends consoled her.

"We have das proof we need, I guess," the scarecrow said slowly.

"What about them?" the iron man asked, indicating the few troopers who remained. They looked back at Risa nervously.

"Does this wand…have power over you?" Risa asked.

One of the guards nodded slowly.

"Too much power," he said sadly.

"Not anymore," Risa said, before handing the wand to the iron man. The iron man promptly broke the wand in two with his kendo stick.

The guards' spirits suddenly seemed to lift.

"We're…free! Free! Young lady, you don't know how much this means to us! We'll be eternally grateful."

Risa smiled and shook her head.

"I only…gave you back something you had all along. There was just something blocking the way, that's all."

The guards cheered, and the mood in the hall seemed to brighten.

"So do we go back to the City of Sapphires now?" the lion asked Risa.

"I guess so," Risa replied, holding the broken wand in her hands. "The Wizard didn't say what condition the wand had to be in."

The sun rose again the next morning, as Risa and her friends were taken back to the City of Sapphires by the winged monkeys, also held in thrall by the Witch.

As she and her friends flew over the stunted trees and withered grass, Risa was taken aback by how they seemed to be blossoming. They had clearly been battered by drought, but they had still survived. Clouds were gathering on the horizon-not enough to rain now, but there would be in the next day or two.

For some reason, Risa found it all strangely comforting.


	12. Unmasked

Risa and her friends were back at the Sapphire City two days later, and were soon admitted to see the Wizard. Finally, they stood in the massive crystalline chamber, as Risa offered the Wizard the broken wand. Placing it at the base of his throne, Risa backed up and waited for the Wizard to say something.

The Wizard merely sat silently, not moving an inch.

The friends looked at one another curiously, before the scarecrow spoke up.

"We held up our end of das bargain. Aren't you going to hold up your das end?"

_"I…did not expect you to return so soon," _the Wizard said slowly. He seemed to Risa to be confused, unsure of what to say next. _"I will need time to contemplate these events. You may return in three days." _

"What-" the iron man started.

"How-" the lion stuttered.

"You-" Risa said in astonishment.

The scarecrow and Usagi ignored the wizard. The scarecrow narrowed his eyes, suspecting that something strange was going on. Taking its cue, the little rabbit gazed around the room, pointing out a strange hairline crack in the dais under the Wizard's throne. The scarecrow walked up to it, tapping it briefly. He then nodded, and called his friends over.

_"NO! STOP! What do you think you're doing?" _the Wizard demanded in horror, as the iron man jammed his kendo stick into the hairline crack and began pushing with the lion. A secret door built into the dais suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden room full of bizarre flashing devices and buttons.

Risa was the first to look inside, and she froze as she saw the room's occupant.

"…SETSUYA?" Risa asked, flustered and amazed. "What are you doing…how did you…why did you…" The lion immediately moved to support her before she fell to the floor in shock.

Risa's friends looked at the real Wizard, the person who had created the image of the blue-robed man on the sapphire throne. Sure enough, he was an almost perfect double of Setsuya. They looked at him in amazement, unsure of what to do, or why Risa reacted the way she did.

Finally, Risa recovered and stood up. The Wizard merely sighed and frowned at her.

"I'm afraid that I don't know who this Setsuya person is," he said calmly. "I am…well…the wizard of Yn."

"You're not das wizard at all!" the scarecrow accused. "You're just das fake!"

"And you got us to do your dirty work for you," the lion accused. The iron man scowled, his kendo stick on his shoulder. The Wizard sighed again.

"Who are you, really?" Risa asked calmly. "And you might as well tell us the truth."

"I am the heir to the throne of this country, its rightful ruler," he answered. "Each Wizard picks his own successor in secret, to maintain the illusion that we are great wizards. We need the image of strong leadership to-"

"-keep your grip on power," the iron man accused mistrustfully.

"I suppose you could put it that way," the Wizard answered. "But we have always done our best for our people-building hospitals, tending to the poor, helping children go to school. If we were not in power, whoever might replace us would be just driven for power. The Wizards have managed to stay where they are because we care about our people. They want us as their leaders, because they know we care about them."

"And you send people to destroy your enemies?" the lion asked ironically.

"We can't solve every problem," the Wizard said sadly. "I thought that you might be able to destroy the Witch, since we couldn't. I could see that you were all fairly brave, and you stood out most of all," he indicated Risa. "You got the ruby tap shoes before the Wicked Witch of the West did. That marked you out as special."

Risa couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the Wizard, if only because of how tired and stressed he sounded. Trying to care for a whole country and its entire people at once was no easy feat. But if he was really who he claimed to be, he would have kept his promises.

"Like I said, we brought back das Wicked Witch's wand, and you should be keeping das promises," the scarecrow reminded him. "Can you use das magic, and-"

"I can't use magic," the wizard said calmly. Disappointment and anger crossed the faces of Risa and her friends as the wizard continued.

"But that doesn't mean I can't help you. I may be able to help you with your problems, if you tell me what they are. Why do you want a brain so much?" he asked the scarecrow.

The scarecrow explained why he needed a brain, hoping to devise better inventions to impress the lady scarecrow with. He then demonstrated some of his inventions to the Wizard, explaining how he had used them on the farm and after meeting Risa.

"Impressive," the Wizard said sincerely when the scarecrow had finished. "If you ask me, you seem intelligent enough already. These devices are well-designed. So simple, and so elegant."

"That doesn't impress das lady scarecrow," the scarecrow answered dryly.

"Well, you do realize that there's a difference between intelligence and wisdom? Knowing how to use your knowledge is just as important as having that knowledge to begin with. And if you ask me, you've already shown that ability. You were smart enough to be suspicious of me, and used that rabbit to find my hiding-place. No one has ever managed to do such a thing."

"And you used your devices to protect us from the poppies," Risa added. "If you hadn't recognized the poppies, and figured out a way for us to get around them, we never would have made it here."

The scarecrow brightened at this.

"It seems to me that you've been letting your problems with this lady scarecrow get to you. You've shown plenty of intelligence already with these inventions of yours, and plenty of wisdom in knowing how to use them. That proves right there that you've got a brain. All you need now is to use it to figure out how to win over the lady scarecrow," the Wizard finished with a smile.

"And you," he continued, turning to the iron man. "What's your story?"

The iron man explained at length what had happened to him, what had happened once he met Risa, and why he wanted a heart.

"You were willing to take on the Wicked Witch of the East, even when she had the ruby tap shoes and all her magical power?" the Wizard asked the iron man incredulously.

"What else could I do?" the iron man asked. "That's why rusting out in the forest was so bad-the munchkins were suffering, and there wasn't anything I could do to help them."

"Hey, you sure helped me a lot," Risa offered. "Remember how you swore to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West and bring back her wand, as long as I was sent home first?" The iron man nodded.

"I couldn't see another person I cared about suffer," the iron man answered determinedly. Anger flashed across his eyes.

"Compassion, determination and honor," the Wizard chuckled. "You don't need me to give you a heart! Why did you even think you needed one in the first place?"

"I got angry out there, when I was rusted," the iron man answered. "I felt like a failure, like I didn't deserve the gratitude of the munchkins for making me a new body. I felt alone and bitter," he said slowly. Risa and Usagi patted his shoulder and foot in sympathy.

"Looks like you got so caught up in your guilt you forgot just why you ended up with an iron body in the first place," the Wizard told him. "You tried to protect the munchkins, and they returned the favor. You were getting ready to try and help them again, when you rusted out. The rainstorm wasn't your fault."

"And you protected me," Risa said slowly. "You saved me-all of us, even-more than once." She smiled at him, as the iron man blushed and turned away with a smile of his own.

"People only truly lose their heart if they give up on what they believe in," the Wizard added. "If you did that, you'd never have helped your friends the way you did. What would you have done if you'd been oiled by a passerby, and they hadn't been going to the City of Sapphires?"

"I would have gone and destroyed the Wicked Witch of the East," the iron man replied determinedly. "I wasn't about to abandon the munchkins!"

"You just proved my point," the Wizard said with a smile.

"And how about you?" the Wizard asked, turning to the lion. "How did you get so cowardly?"

The lion told the Wizard his story, about his fear of the other dangerous predators, and what had happened after he met Risa.

"Running away from a fight when the other side outnumbers you twenty to one isn't cowardice, it's common sense," the Wizard told him. "If you had tried to fight the Kelidas by yourself, you'd have just become their lunch. There's a difference between courage and bravado. Bravado is just stupidity."

"And you were still able to fight the Kelidas to protect me and Usagi," Risa said with a smile. She and Usagi both petted the lion's mane. The lion turned red in embarrassment.

"Courage isn't charging into a situation like a fool without making sure you know what you're doing. Real courage is taking a risk for something important, for something or someone you care about, even when you know the dangers. You had a reason to fight those Kelidas when they attacked your friends, and you had a reason to fight the Witch's guards. You don't need to feel like a coward for running from a fight that would have gotten you killed. You say you took risks when you needed to, to help people and causes you care about? Sounds a lot like courage to me."

"It's strange, isn't it?" asked Risa. Everyone looked at her.

"What do you mean?" the lion asked curiously.

"You were all so upset about the bad things in your lives, you forgot about the good. That just made you think things were worse than they really were."

"We're not das only ones," the scarecrow reminded her.

Risa was suddenly struck by how right the scarecrow was. Her family heritage and her pariah status were terrible things to live with. But her magnificent dancing brought her joy, and her friends helped her through the problems.

How could she have forgotten all that?

Risa sighed. She was happy to see that her friends had been able to find their brains, their hearts and their courage, but she was still trapped in Yn. She had no idea how she would return home to Japan, to see the people she cared about.

"I doubt there's anything you can say to send me home," she said sadly to the Wizard.

"Don't be so sure," smiled the Wizard, as he returned into his secret room and emerged with a crystal prism.

"I helped the Good Witch of the North a while ago, and she said I could call her with this prism if I ever needed her to repay the favor. Maybe she can think of something."

Risa brightened immediately.

"Just one thing, though," the Wizard replied, returning to his secret room. "Don't tell anyone about who I really am, okay? If you do, everything in Yn would go absolutely haywire. Promise?"

Risa and her friends nodded, before the Wizard began rubbing the prism, using it to call out to the Good Witch and summon her to his throne room. He then promptly retreated into his secret room, slamming the door behind him and reactivating the imagery of the hooded, blue-robed mage.

The blue and indigo lights began to appear and gather, before assembling into the beautiful Good Witch of the North. Risa was again amazed at how much she resembled Mai-chan. She and the Wizard proceeded to explain the situation, hoping she would have a solution.

"Oh, yes!" the Good Witch brightened. "I believe I have the answer."

"What is it?" Risa asked eagerly.

"If you perform the proper dance with the ruby tap shoes, you will be able to go anywhere you wish, even home. You can also take Usagi with-"

"Wait a minute," Risa interrupted incredulously. "You mean I could've gone home any time I wanted? Why didn't you tell me?!?"

The Good Witch sweat-dropped nervously.

"Would you believe I…forgot?"

Risa and her friends collapsed in shock.

Finally, Risa leapt to her feet.

"You mean to tell me that I could've gone home any time?!?" Risa said furiously. "After everything I went through-" she suddenly stopped. She was forgetting the positive side of her journey, only remembering the dangers she and her friends had faced. If she had gone home that instant, none of her friends would ever have gotten what they wanted. And she would never have learned so much about herself. And the Winkies would have still been slaves to the Wicked Witch of the West.

"I'm sorry," Risa said. "I've…been through a lot these last few weeks. But when I was dancing before…why didn't I go home then?"

"All the powers and abilities in the world don't do any good unless you use them," the Good Witch reminded her. "Now you do, I take it?"

"Yes," Risa answered. "And I want to say…" she hesitated, looking around at everyone, people who reminded her so much of her friends.

"Thank you. For everything."

She hugged the scarecrow first.

"Sorry about das x-ray glasses," he smiled.

"Don't worry," Risa laughed. "It just shows you're smart enough to have good taste," she winked. "And besides, you're also smart enough to follow your dreams."

She then turned to the iron man.

"It's been an honor, to..." the iron man began.

"You don't need to say it," Risa answered. "What's important is what's in your heart." They both blushed and turned away smiling.

Finally, Risa patted the lion, smiling as she looked into his eyes.

"Thanks for everything," the lion simply said.

"And thank you," Risa answered. "Courage is a hard thing to hold onto sometimes, isn't it?" The lion nodded in reply.

Risa and Usagi looked around, smiling at their friends. Risa and Usagi might never see them again, but the memories were all they needed.

"I'm ready now," she finished, turning to the Good Witch.

"All you need is to dance with your heart, and your desire to return home. The shoes will do the rest," the Good Witch replied.

"But I danced before," Risa answered in confusion. "Why didn't it-"

"All the talent and power in the world is no good if you don't use it properly," the Good Witch replied.

Risa smiled and nodded, following the Good Witch's advice as she began the last dance, letting her memories flood over her, both the old and the new, the good and the bad. The people watching her slowly faded from sight, as Risa closed her eyes.


	13. Homeward Bound

The first thing Risa felt was Usagi nudging her face, as she finally awoke. She looked around, and found herself lying on her bed at home, wearing the same clothes and backpack she had on when the tornado had struck almost two weeks ago. Everything was the same, except for her stocking feet-the ruby tap shoes were gone.

Had she just dreamed the whole thing, or was it real? It sure _**felt **_real…Risa was suddenly jolted out of her reverie by arguing voices echoing from the parlor of her house. She ran out onto the balcony to see what was going on, Usagi following right behind.

She stopped short, seeing her friends from school arguing with some of her parents' servants. Apparently the servants wouldn't let them in to see Risa, and ordering them to get out. Risa immediately called out, ordering the servants to stop, as she ran down the stairs. Quickly dismissing them, she hugged them in turn, happy to see them and happy to be home.

"Where have you been, Risa? We've been worried sick," Mai-chan informed her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Risa answered, not even sure if she had been dreaming or not, sick and unconscious for the last while after being returned home. "Let's just say the tornado blew me away a lot farther than I ever thought it would."

"What happened?" Tiko asked. Risa pursed her lips, trying to explain.

"I…learned a lot about myself," she replied. "I only got back just now-I couldn't reach any of you before."

"You were gone for two weeks and your parents didn't look for you?" Mitsuko asked incredulously.

"My parents don't care if I live or die," Risa replied. "I'm not interested in their intrigues, so I'm out of the will and could move to America for all they care."

"Well, _we _care," Kai said firmly.

"And that's all that matters," Risa answered. She was still a social pariah, and her parents didn't care one bit about what happened to her, but that didn't matter anymore. She'd survive-she always did, somehow. And she knew she wasn't alone.

But something still nagged at Risa-had the whole thing been a dream?

Back in Risa's bedroom, hidden behind her hope chest, the ruby tap shoes glittered silently, ready should their rightful owner ever need them again.


End file.
